Tony Mowbray celebrated his first win as Coventry manager, as goals from Marcus Tudgay, Sanmi Odelusi and Frank Nouble earned a 3-2 win at Chesterfield.
James O’Shea and Gboly Ariyibi replied for the home side, but Coventry held on. They remain one place and two points above the relegation zone.
Joe Garner scored four times as Preston tightened their grip on second place in Sky Bet League One with a 5-1 hammering of struggling Crewe at Deepdale.
The striker found the net twice in each half to take his tally to 20 in 30 games this season, while Jermaine Beckford added a late fifth, with Ollie Turton replying for the visitors.
Preston closed the, still large, gap on leaders Bristol City to 11 points, after Steve Cotterill’s side were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Gillingham.
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Swindon remain third, with Raphael Rossi Branco’s eighth minute goal earning them a 1-0 win at Port Vale, who hit the bar late on through a Michael O’Connor free-kick.
Lee Johnson experienced a happy return to Oldham, as his Barnsley side’s 3-1 win at SportsDirect.com Park moved them into the play-off spots.
The 33-year-old, who switched clubs 17 days ago, had to endure chants of ‘Judas’ from the home faithful, but he had the lasat laugh in maintaining his 100 per cent record since taking charge. Lewin Nyatanga’s brace, either side of Conor Hourihane’s fortuitous effort and Mike Jones’ goal for the hosts, moved Barnsley into the top six on goals scored.
Peterborough were kept out of the play-off spots as a result, despite goals from Luke James and Conor Washington giving them a 2 -0 win at Doncaster.
Fleetwood are two points behind after Josh Morris’ 59th-minute goal was enough to seal a 1-0 victory over Rochdale.
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At the other end of the table, Leyton Orient remain two points adrift of safety despite a 3-0 victory over Yeovil, who are still propping up the table. Chris Dagnall and Ryan Hedges struck inside the opening seven minutes before veteran Jobi McAnuff added a third.
Izale McLeod’s penalty settled a five-goal thriller between struggling Crawley and Colchester, who were beaten 3-2 at home.
Sammie Szmodics put Colchester in front, before Ryan Dickson and Gavin Tomlin gave Crawley a 2-1 half-time lead. David Fox equalised four minutes into the second half but McLeod kept his composure from the spot in the 75th minute, to win the game.
A header from Notts County’s Mike Edwards cancelled out Jon Stead’s strike and ensured Bradford warmed up for their FA Cup quarter-final replay with Reading in two days’ time with a 1-1 draw.
Scunthorpe and Sheffield United drew 1-1, as Kieron Freeman cancelled out Neal Bishop’s opener, while Walsall and MK Dons produced the same scoreline, with Tom Bradshaw opening the scoring for the home side and Will Grigg replying for the visitors.